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What’s Holding Back Oil Prices Now? | Matt Smith
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By Siyamak Khorrami
7/18/2026Updated: 7/18/2026

The Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted for more than four months, and crude is still trading in the $80s. Meanwhile, diesel at the U.S. pump has passed $5 a gallon and has outpaced crude since the crisis began. If the world’s biggest oil choke point remains this constrained, why isn’t the oil price showing more of the strain?

The market has adapted, but with fixes that were never built to last. The bill is already arriving somewhere other than the price of crude.

Matt Smith directs commodity research at Kpler, a firm that tracks the world’s oil flows tanker by tanker. He joins us to explain what that data is showing, that the oil price is not, and how much longer the calm can hold.

Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and the guest and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

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Siyamak Khorrami has been the general manager and chief editor of the Southern California edition of The Epoch Times since 2017. He is also the host of the “California Insider” show, which showcases leaders and professionals across the state with inside information about trending topics and critical issues in California.